Higher ground in the repeatedly flood-ravaged NSW Northern Rivers is planned to be opened up in new flood-safe locations for future development.
The move is part of an $800-million state and federal government program to support about 2000 homeowners in flood-prone areas of the region whose properties were inundated in February-March this year.
More than 5000 homes were left uninhabitable across NSW due to the flooding disaster.
Under the program, a voluntary buyback scheme is also being offered to Northern Rivers homeowners whose properties were impacted by the floods. The properties would be bought back at pre-disaster prices.
Funding of up to $100,000 for house raising or up to $50,000 for retrofitting for homeowners in areas where flood risk can be reduced by better building standards also will be provided under the Northern Rivers Resilient Homes Fund.
But with severe weather events forecast to become more frequent and intense from climate change the focus has shifted well above the high-water mark in the region’s seven hardest hit areas including Ballina, Byron, Clarence Valley, Kyogle, Lismore, the Richmond Valley and Tweed.
The NSW government has allocated $100 million to acquire land and open up new flood safe locations for future development, in partnership with the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation.
The corporation is currently conducting an expressions of interest process to identify landholders in the Northern Rivers interested in potentially selling suitable parcels of developable land.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the program would help Northern Rivers’ residents take further steps on the road towards recovery while also boosting community resilience in the long-term.
“I saw first-hand the devastation extreme flooding caused across the Northern Rivers and I hope this program provides relief for so many residents who have suffered for too long,” he said.
“We are stepping up to provide options for residents to move out of harm’s way and protect themselves and their families but we cannot continue to build back as we have in the past.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the key to the funding initiative was to ensure flood-prone communities can be safer during future flood events.
“We know that disasters are expected to become more frequent, and more severe due to climate change, and that’s why we’re working with the NSW government to develop practical solutions to protect lives and livelihoods,” he said.
